WIT to drive next generation of internet

30 Sep 2005

Following a competitive process a consortium lead by Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has been designated as the National Centre for Internet Protocol version 6.0 (IPv6) in Ireland. IPv6 is the new protocol that will drive future application of the next generation of the internet.

The consortium includes the Hamilton Institute, which is a multi-disciplinary research centre established by the National University of Ireland, Maynooth in 2001, HEANet that provides high-quality internet connections to more than 150,000 staff and students in the educational area and BT Ireland, which employees some 900 people in Ireland.

The aim of the project is to help Ireland pioneer the newest applications that will change the way we interact with ICT.

The IPv6 technology will not only be deployed throughout the ICT sector, but will soon be incorporated in many everyday domestic devices.

The deployment of this technology in cars, domestic heating and lighting systems, white goods and security systems will mean that these devices will be connected to the internet and that they can be individually controlled and monitored from any internet location throughout the world.

“This consortium brings together the main players in Ireland where the pooling of resources will help to build a team that will lead the world in the area of IPv6 technology and research,” commented Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey TD.